I just called Tony’s to get a a decoder for my Proto 2000 S1 and daughter’s Bachman Plus 4-8-4.
He sold me a Digitrax DNI 143 IP for the S1 and a pack of resisters for the light. But he didn’t want to sell me anything for the Bachman. He says they are impossible to wire for DCC and that his shop doesn’t or won’t do them. He said that he wouldn’t be doing me any favors by selling me a decoder.
I suppose I could have talked him into selling me one, but he convinced me the job was way over my head. He said that the last one they attempted at the shop, he ended up buying the guy a new locomotive. Guess my daughter is going to be the queen of channel 00 at the club. Too bad.
I would be careful about using the Bachmann on address 0. I read somewhere that some motors couldn’t handle the heat generated by the AC current, and that it makes the motor humm. i would hate to have to see another burial for your switcher and your daughters bachmann. cringe
I’ve just wired my Bachmann mogul 2-6-0 for DCC using a soundtraxx decoder put the speaker and circuit board in the tender, ran 6 wires thru to the motor, pickups and headlight works great .
I’m having a problem with the wheel pickups but apart from that all is fine.
Using a dc loco on dcc does heat the motor and make a buzz, I’ve been doing it and the motor is still fine.
Even though I’ve never really dealt with them, I would trust TTE’s judgement. However, you might try asking Loy’s Toys to get a second opinion on the matter. They sell DCC systems and accessories (e.g. Digitraxx) but I’m not sure whether they do installations or not. Worth a second ask…
You can literally add DCC to ANYTHING electric, including TVs and blenders, with a little time, knowledge and creativity. First things first: Wiring for DCC has a section on how to add DCC and sound to the Bachmann Plus GS-4: http://www.wiringfordcc.com/sbhgs4.htm
If it’s not EXACTLY what you’re looking for, it’s awfully close. And if you run across any issues with the installation, the rest of the website should answer any questions. Keep the site bookmarked!
Could it have something to do with not being able to isolate the motor… or something like that??
I’m with Ray, I was under the impression that any loco, some more difficult than others, could be
converted to DCC. Strange… Dave
You can ALWAYS isolate a motor, even if it means wrapping it in electrical tape and silicone caulk! I think somebody at Tony’s just didn’t want to mess with a “stone age, DCC-unfriendly, POS” (as the DCC snobs like to call most steam)
I’d pick up one of the Lenz life-time warranty decoders when attempting the Bachmann install. Just in case you fry it, you’ll get a free second chance at it.
I’ve done the Bachmann GS-4 Warbaby and it took a little care but it wasn’t THAT hard. I can’t imagine your 4-8-4 being “impossible” to do. Nothing is impossible if you are determined enough. I don’t remember for sure, but I think the motor is one of the three-pole “pancake” motors that has the contacts to the frame halves. It’s easy enough to isolate. They must not want to spend the time, or haven’t tried, doing it. If you do it yourself, why would they care how long it would take? If you put the decoder and speaker in the tender, there should be plenty of room in the engine (read between the frame halves) for the wires for the track pickup, motor, and lights. Call Tony’s again and get someone else, or try a different supplier.
Go ahead and get a TCS T1 www.tcsdcc.com The T1 is a basic decoder but it should have all the features you need for your daughter’s engine. Plus, even if you screw up, you cant go wrong. they have a 1 year “goof-proof” warranty. Send them the destroyed decoder and they’ll send you a new one no questions asked, free of charge.
I have a Bachmann GP40 ( McKinley explorer set) and was told by TTE that it could not be made to use DCC. Upon checking directly with Bachmann, I received the very same answer. Bachmann instead wanted to sell me another GP 40 that is now DCC friendly. Tony does not have an axe to grind, he is straight up with modelers, I have been to his store and his people know their stuff. As you can see, the manufacturer THEMSELVES admitted to the problem. One “might” be able to retrofit, but will the patient survive?? Sometimes guys and gals, the cure is worse than the disease.
Courtesy of Trainorders.
I’m not DCC or a Bachmann guy but I saved this for future use.
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A clarification here…
I have a Spectrum Heavy Mountain which is a great model. I did, however, have problems when I tried installing a decoder. In this case it was a Digitrax DH163 series. I had erratic running problems and could not resolve it. Finally, I found an app note on the TCS web page concerning this problem.
It seems Bachmann is trying to deal with European RFI/EMI restrictions. These are pretty severe because they still want to use rabbit ear antennas on their TVs and don’t like interference from noisy motors, as in your favorite model train. Thus Bachmann has gone to some lengths to suppress this by installing hash filters in the motor leads.
The filters are highly reactive, consisting of capacitors and inductors, or at least a capacitor. This kind of load affects the feedback that the decoder sees. The result is that the decoder can’t figure out how to handle it, gets lost and does strange things.
My solution was to remove the filter components altogether. When I did that, the loco ran just fine with no hiccups at all. A second piece of information came in a recent article in Model Railroad News. The writer, John Sipple (also editor) described how he took the board out completely to cure his loco, a different model.
The item on Tony’s web page doesn’t seem to quite fit but in my years of dealing with customer’s technical problems, it often turns out that the complaint d
I recommend Litchfield Station, http://www.litchfieldstation.com/. E-mail Bruce and see what he says. He has many decoders at good prices, including the TCS T1.
Gary
This Bachmann model you have is made the same as their SP Daylight. Tony’s is right – putting a decoder into one of these requires specialized tools and a lot of work because the drive rods and wheels must all be removed so the frame halves can be separated to get at the motor and isolate it from the frame. And then there’s the problem of what to do about the smoke generator. When you separate the frame halves, you must break one of the heating element wires, and they are a type that cannot be soldered.
I put a decoder into one of these last year and will never attempt anything like that again. Bachmann Spectrum are easy, but not Bachmann Plus steam engines. Bachmann Plus diesels are also a nightmare.